I can relate, having had to leave Dillard's once at a run to try to get my breath back. That was the first and only time this has happened to me, but it helped me to understand what those with asthma have to deal with. My Dad, who was a preacher for decades, can no longer go to church because his entire respiratory system starts to shut down around all the perfumes and colognes.

Great poem. I love just a whiff of perfume, but not an assault on the senses. I've read that there are some ingredients in perfumes that trigger extreme allergic reactions in some people. I try to be considerate of sensibilities of others. It may reach the point, like cigarettes, that it has to be banned. I can tell if someone has walked through a room where people are smoking. Smoke clings to clothes and hair. I tend to be intolerant of smoking.

I'm with you on that one. Back when I still had boyfriends, the first thing I would do was to get them to stop wearing cologne! As long as it's not sweaty stinky (and a bath takes care of that), I prefer people to smell like people. Let the flowers smell like flowers.

And on top of the perfume and cologne, practically every product we buy is infused with some scent or other. And when all that mingles, watch out! I'm always skeptical about anything that isn't a natural or organic product myself. It's like food that says "flavored" and doesn't contain the ingredient one would associate with the flavor. It's a crazy world.

I too dislike overwhelming perfume. Why do some women do this!! I have asthma and it affect me too. I have noticed women of a "certain generation" are prone to saturating themselves with scent. And it does not make them attractive.

Also, sweet post about your son.... I loved that you bought him an ice cream cone.... nice mom.. xoxo

As people age, their sense of smell is diminished and they don't even know how overpowering their perfume (or cologne, because men are offenders, too) is. But I'd take the strongest perfume in the world over having to be subjected to the smell of someone's cigar. That literally makes me gag.

Perfume can totally mess me up. Several times over the years I had exposure that made my heart race so fast I couldn't catch my breath and ended up at the ER. Now I leave the spot where there's a strong scent asa fast as I can. I take meds before venturing into a possible overpowering place but it isn't always able to keep me safe. To bad it also affects kids and their ability to concentrate in many places. They often act out and are perceived as not well behaved. Poor things!!

An other interesting side note to your lovely poem; Here in theGTA staff working in hospitals and teaching centres are no longer allowed to work wearing strongly scented items. Students may also be refused into classes. It appears that fragrances affect some's ability to function optimally.

Oh geez, I hear you. Except my allergies kick into overdrive when I've been around someone who has been smoking pot! It gets in their clothes and my sinuses swell up and my eyes start burning and itching.

This has happened to me a few times over the years standing behind someone in the grocery store or next to someone at Blockbuster. Needless to say, I haven't been to a concert in about 15 years!

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